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ous. Beca
The Evolution ary Psychology of Envy
resourcedo so at tl
mate, nav
or not pe(
SARAH E. HILL AND DAVID M. BUSS
compete
sary for s
How peo
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Give
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At first glance, envy appears to be a maladaptive emotion. A great deal of subjective
distress, workplace angst, and sibling rivalry owes themselves to this potentially
destructive emotion. Envy, however, is as ubiquitous as it is socially undesirable. young
children and adults alike are quick to take note when something is "no[ fair,,,
although.
over time, they become more adept at keeping such observations to
themselves. The
recognition of another's advantage and the feelings of unfairness
and hostility that
sometimes follow are an important part of what it means to be human.
Despite its reputation as being distasteful, tacky, petty, and downright gauche, it
is likely that envy has
played an important role in humans' quest for the resources
necessary for successful
survival and reproduction over the course of evolutionary time. In
this chapter we provide an evolutionary psychological accounf of envy. First we
explore the hypothesized
function of envy by detailing the adaptive problems for which it is
hypothesized to be
an evolved solution. Then we address how an evolutionary account
of envy organizes
existing empirical discoveries about the nature of envy. We close
with suggestions for
future directions of envy research that are made possible when
viewing this emotion
from an evolutionary psychological perspective.
psycholc
Gonzale:
individui
talents o
that sele'
how one
strated tl
and play
Blanton.
son and
this voh
compari
The
that mul
reprodu,
past (Fr
tor" wht
sufficier
sary.
Resource Competition
Al
absolutt
The process of natural selection is inherently competitive, selecting for individual
phenotypes-and the genes that code for them-based on their ability
to outperfonn
existing alternate forms in domains that affect fitness. This process
is reflected in our social landscape in which individuals must continually struggle to acquire
fitness-relevant
resources or positions that others are simultaneously attempting
to acquire. For example, in the domain of mate choice, there are fewer individuals
who embody the characteristics that men and women most desire in their romantic
partners than there are
individuals who would like to mate with them (Buss, 2003). Individuals
must compere
OU
tive enc
to solvi
rate inf,
the ada
with wl
achieve
Be
mains z
dividua
The Evolutionary Psychology of
'lvy
ubjective
tially dee. Young
rlthough.
ives. The
ility
that
its repuenvy has
rccessful
- we prolthesized
red to be
rrganizes
tions for
emotion
rdividual
lperforrn
n our so-relevant
)r examhe char.here are
compete
Envy 5l
for access to these "high mate value" mates and only a lucky few will emerge victorious. Because highly desirable mates exist in limited supply-as is true for any scarce
resource-those individuals able to capture the hearts of these individuals necessarily
do so at the expense of their competitors. This is true whether one is pursuing a desirable
mate, navigating a status hierarchy, or attempting to secure a coveted newiob. Whether
or not people are aware of it or whether they do it directly or indirectly, they continually
compete with friends, family, and rivals to gain access to valuable resources necessary for survival and reproduction. This is as true now as it was for distant ancestors.
How people stack up relative to others decides a number of important outcomes in life
(Alicke &Zell, chap. 5, this volume; Festinger, 1954; Suls & Wheeler, 2000).
Given the reliably competitive nature of human social landscapes, it is likely that
the human mind contains a number of psychological features that bestowed our ancestors with the ability to keep tabs on how well they were performing relative to their
rivals. One such set of teatures that have been well-studied by psychologists are the
psychological processes responsible for the social cornparisons (Buunk, Zurriaga,
Gonzalez-Roma, & Subirats, 2003). When competing for access to scarce resources, an
individual's optimal behavioral strategy critically depends not only on the qualities and
talents of oneself but also on those of one's relevant social competitors. Thus, it is likely
that selection has shaped a rich array of cognitive adaptations designed to approximate
how one stacks up compared to one's rivals. Indeed, many researchers have demonstrated that social comparisons between oneself and comparable others are ubiquitous
and play an instrumental role in individuals' self-evaluations (Festinger, 1954; Stapel &
Blanton, 2AO1; Suls & Wheeler, 2000), making the relationship between social comparison and envy inherently intertwined (as convincingly argued by Alicke &ZelL chap. 5,
this volume). People's feelings of success and failure at life's pursuits are formed by
comparing their own performances to those of others.
The use of social comparisons as a tool for estimating the optirnal amount of effort
that must be put forth to successfully acquire the resources necessary for survival and
reproduction is likely the result of decision rules selected for in humans' evolutionary
past (Frank, 1999). Employing the decision rule "do better than your nearest competitor" when directing goal-setting behaviors would have prompted individuals to put forth
sufficient effort to outperform rivals in resource acquisition, but not more than necessary. Alternative decision rules such as "always do the best you can" or rules relying on
absolute benchmarks such as "acquire enough food to prevent starvation" or "be attractive enough to acquire a mate" do not specify at what point one can relax and move on
to solving other adaptive problems and are open to exploitation by rules able to incorporate information about rivals' behaviors. Given the nature of the evolutionary process,
the adaptive goal should not be to better oneself in general, but to be better than rivals
with whom one is competing for access to the same resources in a given domain. Once
achieved, the individual can go on to solve adaptive problems in other domains.
Because the fitness consequences related to resource acquisition in a number of domains are inherently dependent on one's performance relative to social competitors, individuals' responses to their self-comparisons are not expected to be received neutrally.
62
The Evolutionary Psychology of Envy
Enter the emotions. F'rom an evolutionary psychological perspective,
the emotions are
component parts of a coordinated internal response system shaped
by selection to alert
the bearers that something has occurred in the internal or external
environment that
requires attention (Cosmides & Tooby, 2000). When a person
compares favorably to
others on a given dimension that has been historically linked to
fitness, it is typically
met with a positive affective response. It feels good to outperform
competitors. Such responses increase the probability that the individual will continue
engaging in behaviors
responsible for these successes. Conversely, when social comparisons
reflect poorly on
one's relative performance in a fitness-relevant domain, it is typically
met with subjective distress' Individuals appear to be acutely attuned to diminutions
in rank on attributes that could have a negative impact on their reproductive
success (Kalma, 1991;
Mazur&Booth,lg99).
Regarding subjectively upsetting emotions specifically, strategic
interference theory posits that these emotional responses-although upsetting-serve the
following
important adaptive functions (Buss, 1989a): (l) temporarily screening
out information
that is less relevant to the adaptive problem being faced and focusing
attention on the
source of strategic interference, (2) prompting storage of tbe relevant
information in
memory, (3) motivating action to reduce the strategic interference,
and (4) motivating
action to prevent future such interference. The human mind likely
contains numerous
psychological adaptations that have been selected by the evolutionary
process based on
their ability to signal strategic interference. As described in a recent
paper (Hill & Buss,
2006), we hypothesized that envy is one such emotional adaptation
that has been shaped
by selection to signal strategic interference in the quest for resource
acquisition.
The Evofution of Envy Research
envy ofte
functions
The
competiti
features <
character
social co
selves), a
why disc
(Smith,
harder tir
Ozer, &.1
-accord
that can
I
suggests
person's
1994). T
accompa
Fror
a predict
of a corr
facilitate
tral com
of the re
same go
attempti
Organizing Existing Bodies of Knowledge
Envy is typically defined by researchers as being a subjectively
unpleasant mix of discontentment and hostility occurring in response to unfavorable
social comparisons. This
emotion is especially likely to occur when the envying individual
holds an inferior position in a domain of high personal relevance (Feather & Sherman
,Z1a2;parrott & Smith,
1993; Salovey & Rodin,1984; Silver & Sabini, 1978;
Smith & Kim, 2007).Given rhe
importance of social competition in survival and reproductive
success, evolution by selection likely would have favored adaptations designed to generate
subjective distress in
response to being outperfbrmed by rivals. It has been recently
hypothes izedthat envy is
one such adaptation (Hill & Buss, 2006). Over the course of evolutionary
time, individuals experiencing envy in response to advantages possessed by
others would have been
more likely to invest effort in acquiring the same advantages
for themselves than those
not experiencing envy. In turn, these individuals would have
heightened their own probability of resource acquisition success, likely out-reproducing
their rivals. It is reasoned
that the emotion of envy owes itself to the wisdom
of our ancestors: it is the result of milIions of years of selection for traits facilitating successful
social competition. Although
1
more co
self-enh
attractiv
(Buss &
manifes
(Salovey
social e
in the e1
sources
that one
design I
Sin
insight
2003; S
reluctar
tage tha
that are
The Evolutionary Psychology of
lotlons are
on [o alert
rment that
vorably to
s typically
s. Such re-
behaviors
poorly on
rth subjec-
k on attriffi&, 1991 ;
rence the-
following
formation
on on the
mation in
notivating
numerous
based on
ll & Buss,
:n shaped
)n.
ix of disons. This
rior posi-
& Smith,
liven the
on by seistress in
rt envy is
individuave been
ran those
wn probreasoned
It of mil-
\lthough
Envy
63
envy often results in subjective distress, we propose that this type of emotional distress
functions to motivate adaptive action (Buss, 1989a).
The hypothesis that envy is a functional component of humans' evolved resource
competition psychology offers new insights into many of the well-documented design
features of envy. In particular among these are the feelings of hostility and ill will that
characte nze an envious response to another's advantage. Because envy results from
social comparative processes (which often determine how individuals evaluate themselves), alternative accounts of envy have had little difficulty predicting and explaining
why discontentment with oneself should be an important part of the envy experience
(Smith, 1991 ; Smith & Insko, 1987; Tesser, l99l). However, researchers have had a
harder time understanding why ill will also typifies the emotion of envy (Smith, Parrott,
Ozer,, & Moniz,1994). This is an important feature of envy to understand, because envy
to its proper definition and scholarly tradition-contains hostile feelings
-according
that can lead to hostile actions (Smith et al ., 1994: Smith & Kim, 2007). Some research
suggests that invidious comparisons will often create a subjective sense that the envied
person's advantage is unfair, which, in turn, creates the feelings of ill will (Smith et al.,
1994). This account, however, cannot explain why feelings of hostility and
accompany envy experienced in response to deserved advantages.
ill will
that
From an evolutionary perspective, the feelings of ill will that accompany envy are
a predicted feature of this emotion, occurring regardless of the perceived deservedness
of a competitor's advantage. Envy is hypothesized to have been shaped by selection to
facilitate successful social competition for access to resources that affect fitness. A central component of successful resource competition is rendering oneself more deserving
of the resources one is competing for relative to others who are striving to achieve the
same goal (Buss, 1988a). This is true across domains of resource competition, whether
attempting to enhance relative standing in the eyes of potential mates or trying to appear
more competent than one's coworkers in the workplace in front of one's boss. Relative
self-enhancement can be achieved through two basic strategies: ( I ) making oneself more
attractive or appealing, and (2) rendering the competition less attractive or appealing
(Buss & Dedden, 1990). Researchers have shown that envy-produced hostility typically
manifests itself in indirect ways, such as derogation of the envied person to a third party
(Salovey & Rodin, 1984; Silver & Sabini, 1978). Individuals are able to diminish the
social effects of their competitors' advantage by making them appear less advantaged
in the eyes of their peers and, more importantly, in the eyes of those who possess the resources for which the individuals must compete. Ill will-and the colresponding belief
that one is more deserving of an advantage than one's rival-likely represent adaptive
design features of envy serving to facilitate the motivational component of envy.
Similarly, understanding envy in terms of its adaptive function also provides new
insight into the oft-noted secretive nature of this emotion (Heikkinen, Latvala, & Isola,
20A3; Smith & Kim, 2007). People often do not like to admit they are feeling envious. So
reluctant are men and women to admit feeling envious in response to another's advantage that researchers studying this emotion must often rely on measuring other emotions
that are closely tied to enviousness without containing the word envy (e.g., hostility;
54
The Evolutionary Psychology of Envy
Smith & Kim, 2007). Why are people so loathe to admit feeling envious? An evolutionary psychological perspective on this emotion provides insight into the very secretive
nature of this emotion
Strategic interference theory posits that the negative affect associated with another's advantage results from an internal alarm signaling that one is being outperformed
in an important domain of resource competition. Keeping this information private is
likely important not only for face-saving purposes, but is also critical to preventing future competitive failures. This is true for several reasons. First, the admission of feeling
envious sends a signal to all interested parties that the envious individual has been
outperformed by a rival. An individual's true competitive formidability in a given
domain
of resource acquisition is not public information available to all who seek it. Rather,
it must be deciphered by others based on available social and phenotypic cues. This
ambiguity of one's relative position in a given domain of resource competition can be
manipulated to one's advantage through careful impression management. Concealing
the enviousness that one feels toward rivals leaves the possibility open for the individual
to influence others' perceptions of the individual's successes and failures to his or her
advantage, potentially mitigating any social damage resulting from unfavorable social
comparisons with the advantaged rival.
Consider a man who loses out on a coveted promotion to a coworker. If this man
were to admit feeling envious of his coworker's advantage, he would be announcing his
relatively lower position to others, highlighting his weaknesses. However, by concealing
his enviousness' he leaves open the possibility of mitigating the status damage related
to this loss by feigning disinterest in the position (perhaps citing its unhealthy work/life
balance) or pretending not to have applied for it in the first place. Because the
majority of socially relevant others do not have perfect information about the true nature of
the man's interest in the promotion, he can potentially influence others impressions
of
his failure in its attainment. Suppressing envy felt toward his coworker's success
also
opens the possibility for the man to influence others' perceptions of the coworkers,
deservedness of the status increase. He may casually suggest to relevant
others that his
coworker's success was the result of an influence outside the person (Salovey
& Rodin,
1984; Silver & Sabini, 1978). For instance, he may mention that his
coworker is the
boss's nephew, potentially lessening the social damage of his lower status position.
Such
attempts to verbally manipulate others' impressions of his rival (and, in turn,
others'
impressions of his own relatively lower position) would not be as effective if others
were
aware of his enviousness. Being up-front about envying his coworker would preclude
the successful use of verbal derogation tactics, because others-knowing the true motivation behind the gossip-would be less inclined to believe him. Being openly envious
of advantaged rivals also decreases the likelihood of being able to covertly co-opt the
resources from the rival. For instance, if a woman is envious of her roommate's
romantic
partner, it would be in her best interest not to let her roommate in on her
feelings. Keeping her envy covert leaves the possibility open for the woman ro rry to
spend time with
the coveted mate without raising the suspicions of her romantic rival.
Directir
An evolutio
edge about
psychologic
about the dt
tence of a "
tive abilitier
factor in el
specialized
Reseat
those who
and for ad''
1984; Salo
a core parl
parison. H
'
is determir
that shoulc
positive re
tive proble
the more t
be expecte
in respons
a rival wet
on the
for
An
er
self-comp
domains r
Buss, 200
men have
choice ha
1994; Syt
have beet
been by s
spring (B
onstrated
financial
preferenc
youth an
Symons,
for
instar
peers bei
The Evolutionary Psychology of
r
evolution-
'y Secretive
,rrith anoth-
tperformed
I private is
venting fur of feeling
s been out'en domain
it.
Rather,
cues. This
.ion can be
Joncealing
individual
, his or her
able social
tf this man
,uncing his
:oncealing
tge related
r work/lif'e
the majorr nature of
'essions
of
rccess also
:oworkers'
:rs that his
'& Rodin,
rker is the
tion. Such
rn, others'
thers were
I preclude
true motily envious
co-opt the
; romantic
rgs. Keeptime with
Envy
65
Directing New Avenues of Research
An evolutionary perspective on envy does more than organize existing bodies of knowledge about envy. By guiding research in a more domain-specific w&/, an evolutionary
psychological approach to envy also allows researchers to make informed predictions
about the domains in which individuals are expected to experience envy. Just as the existence of a "g" or general intelligence does not negate the importance of specific cognitive abilities, such as spatial rotation and verbal fluency, the existence of a "g" o. general
factor in enviousness does not negate the importance of differentiated well-being in
specialized domains.
Researchers have long noted that people reserve their feelings of enviousness for
those who are similar to themselves-save for their advantage in the desired domainand for advantages that are in self-relevant domains (Parrott, 1991; Salovey & Rodin,
1984 Salovey & Rothman, 1991; Schaubrook & Lam, 2004: Tesser, 199I). That is,
a core part of one's self worth must be linked to doing well in the domain of comparison. However, what researchers have been less clear about is how self-relevance
is determined. An evolutionary framework makes clear predictions about the domains
that should have high self-relevance to men and wornen, predicting a relatively strong,
positive relationship between personal relevance and the importance of a given adaptive problem. The more closely a domain's historical relevance to reproductive success,
the more that one's successes and failures relative to one's rivals in that domain would
be expected to elicit envy. We predict, for instance, that a man would feel more envious
in response to being outperformed in economic resource acquisition than he would if
a rival were able to bake a better souffld than he (unless the latter ability had a bearing
on the former).
An evolutionary perspective also predicts that the relevance of a given domain of
self-comparison to men's and women's envy feelings should be sex differentiated in those
domains where the sexes have faced qualitatively different adaptive problems (Hill &
Buss, 2006). For instance, in the domain of mate competition, the primary way in which
men have been able to directly increase the fitness benefits available to them from mate
choice has been by gaining sexual access to young, healthy, and fertile women (Buss,
1994; Symons,1979; Williams, 1975). Conversely, a primary avenue by which women
have been able to increase the fitness benefits available to them from mate choice has
been by securing a partner who is able and willing to invest in themselves and their offspring (Buss, 1994; Symons,1979:' Trivers, 1972). Accordingly, researchers have demonstrated that women place greater a premium than do men on their potential mates'
financial prospects and economic resources, whereas men's mate preferences reflect a
preference for those cues most reliably correlated with these traits, namely a woman's
youth and attractiveness (Buss, 1989b, 1994; Kenrick & Keefe , 1992; Singh, 1993;
Symons, 1979). Applying this evolutionary logic to the exploration of envy predicts,
for instance, that women should experience greater envy in response to same-sexed
peers being more attractive than themselves, whereas a rival's having access to a greater
66
The Evolutionary Psychology of Envy
amount of financial resources than themselves should be more likely to elicit envy in
men. Existing empirical research supports these predictions (Hill & Buss,2006).
An evolutionary account of envy also predicts that the situations with the greatest potential to elicit envy will change throughout the lifetime basecl on corresponding
changes in the importance of solving different adaptive problems throughout development. A rival's ability to attract and gain sexual access to short-term mates might elicit
a strong envy response to a man when he is in his twenties and in prime "mating mode."
Forty years later, however, this same man would be more likely to respond enviously
to news of an acquaintance's grandchild being accepted into medical school. An evoIutionary perspective on envy also predicts that individuals should experience the most
frequent and intense envy experiences during the time in their lives when the fitness
consequences associated with resource acquisition are the strongest. That is, it is likely
that the frequency and intensity of envy experiences wax and wane with the reproductive
curve. One's experiences with envy should peak during their peak reproductive years
(which is slightly earlier for women than men) and should then slowly decline with age.
Future research exploring the relationship between envy and the relative importance of
the different adaptive problems that must be solved at different points in development
may uncover new knowledge about the different factors that influence envy throughout
the lifetime.
Using an evolutionary framework in the scientific study of envy also provides a
theoretical grounding from which to derive new predictions about heretofore undocu*
mented features of envy and its role in motivating various behavioral outputs. Researchers interested in the behaviors that envy motivates have noted that envy seems to motivate
at least three categories of behavior: submission, ambition, ancl destruction. Submissive
reactions to another's superiority may act to prevent one from being harmed by one's
competitors (Allan & Gilbert,2002; Buss, 1999; Campos, Berrett, Lamb, Goldsmith, &
Stenberg, 1983). In some contexts, the envy eliciting event may simply provide the
motivation that one needs to get working to achieve the same outcomes for themselves
(i.e., "white" or "competitive" envy; Frank & Sunstein,200l;Matt, 20A1 McAdams,
1992; Palaver, 2004).In yet other circumstances, envy motivates attempts to reduce
the
relative advantage of the envied rival (Berke, 1988; Elster, 1998; Neu, l9g0; Smith,
l99l;Zizzo & Oswald,200l,i.e., "black" or "destructive" envy). Exploring envy in a
more domain-specific manner would allow researchers to make predictions about the
behavioral output that envy will motivate in different contexts.
This evolutionary psychological view of envy as cognitive mechanism designed to
facilitate successful resource competition predicts that the behavioral strategies motivated by envy should vary depending on what behavioral strategy or set of strategies
are optimal given personal and environmental constraints. For instance, if a man experiences envy in response to his neighbor's new, larger house, there are a number of ways
that he might be motivated to respond. The first would be to work harder to try to acquire the same advantage for himself. Alternatively, he may choose to move to a clifferent neighborhood, where his own home will look more impressive. Yet another option
would be to somehow devalue or destroy the neighbor's home. The optimal behavioral
strategY that
costs and be
city in the I
described ac
to move to I
the right Po
is a low likr
an objectivt
(i.e., destro
different inl
ume). Econ
coworker's
ant societie
pathwaYs t
rivals advat
predictions
How Shou
The emoti
Thielke, ct
follows a
or herself.
have soure
among co\
the indivic
uncomforl
DesPi
function i
account o
advantage
corrective
subjective
more env.
of emotic
what envr
how to be
Rodin, I !
If,
as
als to bei
perhaps t
tors are h
The Evolutionary Psychology of
licit envy in
:006).
h the greatrresponding
rut develop-
might elicit
ting mode."
d enviously
ol. An evoce the most
L the fitness
, it is likely
:productive
rctive years
re with age.
portance of
:velopment
throughout
Envy
67
on the
sffategy that envy will likely motivate in response to such an advantage depends
average in
costs and benefits associated with each. For instance, for a man living in an
city in the United States, it is likely that the most effective behavioral response to the
or
described advantage would simply be to work a little harder to acquire such a home
to move to a different neighborhood (see Frank, 1985, for the importance of choosing
the right pond). If the individual in question lives in a poor tribal village where there
is a low likelihood of being able to acquire the materials necessary for reaching such
an objective, the optimal behavior may be to remove the others advantage altogether
(i.e., destroying or defacing the home). Envy takes different trajectories and assumes
different intensities due to differences in social structure (Lindholm, chap. 13, this volume). Economists have noted that workers in the United States typically respond to a
coworker's income or status advantage by working harder themselves. Workers in peasant societies-where resources are scarce and there is an absence of multiple acceptable
pathways to success-tend to respond to envy by trying to undercut or destroy their
rivals advantage (Lindholm, chap. 13, this volume. More research is needed to test these
predictions in a more comprehensive way.
How Should Individuals "Cope" With Envyl
provides a
re undocu. Research-
to motivate
iubmissive
:d by one's
ldsmith, &
rrovide the
Lhemselves
McAdams,
reduce the
80; Smith,
1 envy in a
I about the
esigned to
gies moti'strategies
ran experi-
er of ways
,
try to ac-
differher option
rehavioral
.o a
The emotion of envy can be damaging to subjective well-being (Smith, Combs, &
Thielke, chap. 16, this volume). No one can deny the subiective distress that sometimes
follows a friend or rivll's gaining an advantage that a person would like for himself
or herself. The feelings of resentment in response to another's perceived advantage
have soured relationships between siblings, destroyed friendships, and chilled relations
among coworkers. Feelings of upset and hostility can be so visceral and unpleasant that
the individual would rather terminate the relationship than continue to experience this
uncomfortable reminder of the other's advantage.
Despite the damage that envy can have on well-being, it may serve an important
function in social competitions (Alicke &Zell, chap.5, this volume). An evolutionary
account of envy predicts that individuals experiencing envy in response [o another's
advantage are being appropriately alerted to the advantage and motivated to commence
corrective action. Over the course of evolutionary time, individuals who did not feel
subjective discomfort in these situations would likely have been out-competed by their
more envious counterparts. Although envy often rbsults in subjective distress, this type
of emotional distress functions to motivate adaptive action (Buss, 1989a). Knowing
what envy has been designed to do may lead to promising new avenues for research on
how to bestcope with feelings of envy (Exline &Zell,chap. 17, this volume; Salovey &
Rodin, l99l).
If, as we have hypothesized, envy has been shaped by selection to alert individuals to being outcompeted in evolutionarily important domains of resource competition,
perhaps conscious attempts to change one's perceptions of who one's social competitors are have the effecf of keeping one's envy in check. Because individuals judge their
58
The Evolutionary Psychology of Envy
own success in a number of domains based on how lhey are performing relative to their
rivals, researchers need to determine whether decreasing media exposure, choosing to
surround oneself with others who are similarly endowed in wealth and beauty, or helping less fortunate people has the effect of butfering individuals from experiencing envy.
Knowing what envy has been designed to do means that individuals who are attempting
to cope with envy might best do so by identifying the advantage that their competitor
has that they would like access to and then develop a course of action for achieving
it
themselves. Rather than coping with envy, the individual is solving the problem that
envy has altered them to fix. Just as the best course of action to remedy a toothache is
[o remove the decay (rather than developing coping techniques to deal with the pain),
the best way to fix envy is to solve the adaptive problem that it is signaling needs
to be
solved.
Buss, D.
]
Book
Buss, D.
I
Pears
Buss, D.
I
Relat
Buunk, B
dowt
studl
Campos,
emol
pp.t
Cosmides
J.M
Conclusions
ford
Elster, J.
Evolutionary psychology provides insights into the circumstances that are predicted to
elicit envy and the types of behavioral strategies that are expected to be motivated by
enuy. Although little research has yet been done on envy from an evolutionary perspective, early research from this perspective appears promising (Hill & Buss, 20A6).First,
an evolutionary perspectiv'e serves heuristic value in leading researchers to domains
likely to be of critical importance to understanding envy-those tributary to solving
statistically recurrent problems of survival and reproduction. Second, it leads to hypotheses not produced by other perspectives. None but an evolutionary perspective,
for
example, would lead to the prediction that the degree to which men and women will
experience envy will positively correspond to their reproductive curve. Third, an
evolutionary perspective provides a powerful metatheory for organizing existing knowledge
about envy and its design features that have been documented in the literature. In
at
Ieast these three ways, an evolutionary perspective can make important conceptual
and
empirical contributions this important domain of human emotion.
Feather,I
to dt
clnl
Festinget
Frank, R
Yorl
Frank, R
Fret
Frank,
R
chi
Heikkinr
natt
Hill,
s.
mal
Kalma,
ofi
Kenrick
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